I knew what I hoped would happen when my daughter began using Reading Rulers (a very, very cool reading tool from Crossbow Education). But I knew I'd have to give this product a thorough working-over in order to know it was helping my daughter. So I worked it over...and I wasn't disappointed!
Crossbow Education's motto is "Reading Tools Anyone Can Grab" ~ and it's a fitting motto! I received their ten-pack of Eye Level Reading Rulers (assorted colors, currently costs $16.95) and my 12-year-old daughter started trying them out right away. She did a "test read" with all ten colors, and then began to narrow down the options based on which colors were most comfortable for her. She settled on celery because it made the text the most clear to her (I found pink worked best for me - so be sure to have your children try out all the colors to find their ideal match). To determine which one was ideal, she simply laid them side-by-side over the book she was reading and chose the clearest option. They actually provide a suggested order for arranging the colors during the testing phase!
Colors included in the 10-pack are:
yellow
celery
grass
jade
aqua
sky
purple
magenta
pink
orange
Crossbow Education aims to help children and adults who have dyslexia and special needs, and they work to identify dyslexia tendencies and provide tools to help with daily tasks. Their Reading Rulers are actually used in 40% of UK schools. They hope to make more schools, parents and teachers in the US aware of the benefits of their product line.
The Reading Rulers are very simple to use. Just place one over the text and read. It works with either gloss or matte surfaces (magazines or books). Glare is reduced, focus is improved, and tracking while reading is much easier. There are two windows on each Eye Level Reading Ruler (which you can see in the image above). The narrow window isolates a single line of text, while the wider window is best suited for use when reading paragraphs.
I noticed an immediate difference in my daughter's reading! I often have her read aloud in order to gauge her progress (she has some mild dyslexia). The first thing I noticed was that she didn't lose her place, and the second thing I recognized was the increase in the speed of her reading. Mind you, this was instantaneous! Her enunciation and pronunciation skills improved, and she was inverting letters in small words less frequently. Best of all, she noticed the improvement and her confidence took off.
She uses her Reading Rulers daily, and she has switched back and forth from celery to grass depending on the lighting where she is reading. I have tested her reading without a Reading Ruler, just to see if I was convincing myself of something that wasn't real ~ but I can tell you, it's real! She is reading with more self-confidence than ever before and I am pleased as punch about that!
I should also note that the edges of the Reading Rulers are slightly tinted. While I'm no vision therapist, and I don't know why this makes a difference, I can simply tell you that it does. She typically uses the paragraph depth tracking side of the Reading Ruler as she does her school work. But I can see how the single line option would have been very useful when she was a beginning reader.
In my personal opinion, anyone with attentional difficulties, tracking problems, dyslexia, those in vision therapy, early readers, young or old (pretty much anyone at all!) can benefit from the resources available at Crossbow Education. These Reading Rulers really do reduce eye strain, and even though they are a bit over-sized for they type of book adults read (say the average novel), they can be trimmed down to a smaller size pretty easily. My only warning would be to treat them with care - they scratch and scuff pretty easily!
I hope you will seriously consider investing in Reading Rulers if you have a child who struggles with any type of reading or visual difficulty. They have been a real blessing to our family and I am excited to share this review with others in the hope they might too be blessed!
To see what my fellow Crew member have to say, click HERE.
Visit their website at www.CrossbowEducation.us
The package of ten Reading Rulers sells for $16.95.
Disclaimer ~ I received this product free of charge for review purposes. All opinions shared here are solely my own.
Lord bless you as you homeschool for His glory!
Day 232 done :)
Jan L. Burt
www.AllThingsHomeschool.weebly.com
www.SavanasClayCreations.com
Crossbow Education's motto is "Reading Tools Anyone Can Grab" ~ and it's a fitting motto! I received their ten-pack of Eye Level Reading Rulers (assorted colors, currently costs $16.95) and my 12-year-old daughter started trying them out right away. She did a "test read" with all ten colors, and then began to narrow down the options based on which colors were most comfortable for her. She settled on celery because it made the text the most clear to her (I found pink worked best for me - so be sure to have your children try out all the colors to find their ideal match). To determine which one was ideal, she simply laid them side-by-side over the book she was reading and chose the clearest option. They actually provide a suggested order for arranging the colors during the testing phase!
Colors included in the 10-pack are:
yellow
celery
grass
jade
aqua
sky
purple
magenta
pink
orange
The Reading Rulers are very simple to use. Just place one over the text and read. It works with either gloss or matte surfaces (magazines or books). Glare is reduced, focus is improved, and tracking while reading is much easier. There are two windows on each Eye Level Reading Ruler (which you can see in the image above). The narrow window isolates a single line of text, while the wider window is best suited for use when reading paragraphs.
She uses her Reading Rulers daily, and she has switched back and forth from celery to grass depending on the lighting where she is reading. I have tested her reading without a Reading Ruler, just to see if I was convincing myself of something that wasn't real ~ but I can tell you, it's real! She is reading with more self-confidence than ever before and I am pleased as punch about that!
I should also note that the edges of the Reading Rulers are slightly tinted. While I'm no vision therapist, and I don't know why this makes a difference, I can simply tell you that it does. She typically uses the paragraph depth tracking side of the Reading Ruler as she does her school work. But I can see how the single line option would have been very useful when she was a beginning reader.
In my personal opinion, anyone with attentional difficulties, tracking problems, dyslexia, those in vision therapy, early readers, young or old (pretty much anyone at all!) can benefit from the resources available at Crossbow Education. These Reading Rulers really do reduce eye strain, and even though they are a bit over-sized for they type of book adults read (say the average novel), they can be trimmed down to a smaller size pretty easily. My only warning would be to treat them with care - they scratch and scuff pretty easily!
I hope you will seriously consider investing in Reading Rulers if you have a child who struggles with any type of reading or visual difficulty. They have been a real blessing to our family and I am excited to share this review with others in the hope they might too be blessed!
To see what my fellow Crew member have to say, click HERE.
Visit their website at www.CrossbowEducation.us
The package of ten Reading Rulers sells for $16.95.
Disclaimer ~ I received this product free of charge for review purposes. All opinions shared here are solely my own.
Lord bless you as you homeschool for His glory!
Day 232 done :)
Jan L. Burt
www.AllThingsHomeschool.weebly.com
www.SavanasClayCreations.com
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